May 10, 2012

Tom Ford: Eye Shadow & Blending Brush.

i'm not a huge fan of Tom Ford and i'm not exactly excited about Estée Lauder's new super-prestige line they stamped his name on. i kind of don't trust their expertise when it comes to step up the game because it's their first time doing so (except from a few La Mer base make up products). and my doubts have proven to be justified since i've heard of many mixed reviews. maybe a few product generations later when they have defined themselves a bit more than what they are now thanks to the name embossed on the packaging and regular Estée Lauder quality inside some fancier compacts, bottles and tubes; when they found better production partners to fulfill the needs of the ladies and gents who willingly toss out their cash for some prestige products but also expect to be blown out of the water - maybe then i will also dip my antennae into the colour make up. i don't mean to defame the quality of EL products, but if you charge 50%+ more on the pieces, you have to deliver.
BUT. i'm a huge fan of brushes, and i'm willing to experiment in this area and since rumour has it that the brushes are manufactured by Hakuhodo (which is not absurd to assume since they produce most of the MAC brushes also - plus, they launched a line with similar brushes of white goat hair for their home brand at the IMATS shows), the risk is nonexistant - low. i was eager to try some of TF's brushes because they looked promising on sneak peek photos and you can't do much wrong with white goat hair. it's softer than black/dyed goat since naturally the hair is thinner (lack of pigment and so on) and there won't be any problems with bleeding out.
well, long story short, it was my friend Maureen again who helped me to get my hands on two Tom Ford brushes.

Eye Shadow Brush #11

the brushes are sleek and edgy with long resin/plastic handles in a deep brown with seamlessly connected golden ferrules. all are made with either white goat hair or white synthetic fibres. prices start from 45$ for the Lip Brush up to 110$ for the Bronzer Brush.

to start off, i chose the Eye Shadow Brush (55$) to try. i found the shape to be very interesting and it truly is. it's not too flat and firm like your regular lay-down brush but has long bristles which give it a certain volume. its shape is a hybrid of MAC 217 and a bigger flat filbert eyeshadow brush (e.g. Hakuhodo S121G), it's flatter and more tapered than the MAC and fluffier and less dense but more resilient than the Hakuhodo.
the white goat hair is soft but has some resilience so the brush is not floppy. it's most movable at the tip of the brush, i love to apply soft colour generously onto the lids with the belly of this brush and blend out the eyeshadow with the tip. it's also nice to apply highlight shades, highlighting the nose and small areas or setting undereye concealer with brightening powders. i have washed it many times until now and never had any issues with it, it keeps the shape nicely.
i think this is a very versatile brush, i use it almost every day so i can justify the very steep price.

the other brush i purchased is the classic round blending brush. why did i choose this? well, it looks quite similar to my beloved HG blending brush: Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush, dense and directional - so i was curious if this could perform as well.
the Tom Ford Eye Shadow Blend Brush (55$) reminds of MAC's 222 and Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush, it's more dense and resilient than MAC and is more tapered than both. it doesn't blend out eyeshadows as well as my workhorse by Edward Bess, the brush hair is thinner and the tapered shape provides less contact surface. so this is less of a pure blending brush for me but more of a application brush. it's lovely to apply crease colours or to blend out dark lid shades with another colour when you do a smokey eye. this brush also washes well and keeps its shape very nicely.
although i don't use it quite as often as the Eye Shadow Brush, i still think this is an excellent brush. i prefer it over MAC 224 or 222 because it allows better control and precision.

all in all the Tom Ford brush line is excellent from what i have tried, i really really want to get the Cream Foundation Brush - it looks amazing, similar but seems even better than Shu Uemura or Cover Fx white goat foundation brushes. but it's 70$ and i rarely use such brushes for my foundation application these days... maybe some day.
or maybe i'll wait until Hakuhodo release their white goat brushes which surely will contain a similar model at a better price. and that's the general problem with these TF brushes - they are too expensive and the PR makes it too obvious that you pay for a certain lifestyle image instead of purely investing in quality.

i don't know how your perspective of makeup is. a "normal" person with healthy view on makeup (and no brush-obsession like me) would never justify such a price for a small eye brush. but well, people pay horrendous amounts on things even weirder than that, right?well, it's not a thing that will completely change and improve your make up, but if you have the money and are willing to spend, it's a fabulous little thing ;)

I think you would love the cream foundation blush. I don't use it for foundation at all but for contouring & for application of less pigmented blushes. It has a nice firm & full head and is lovely & soft. Definitely one of my favourite brushes. My TWO Edward Bess eye blender brushes were purchased on your reommendation by the way & I have to say that even though it's not the softest blending brush in my arsenal, I reach for it more than any other. VERY grateful for the tip - thanks :))

now you're not helping me to stay patient!!! ;)i'm sure i will enjoy it - i need it! i will try it for contouring and blush when time comes ;)and i'm super glad that you purchased AND LIKE the EB brushes! they are fantastic, right? yes, they are not exceptionally soft, but they work magic. if i applied to much or got a hard-to-blend dark shade, this brush just works wonders. first i also was a bit sceptical since it's just normal goat hair and quite big, but then i also caught myself reaching for it all the time :D

I second what Buggsiebee has said about the cream foundation brush. I use it for cream and liquid foundations and I much prefer it to a paddle or Kabuki when it comes to applying foundation. This dense brush is super soft, has a softly rounded shape, gets into the nooks and crannies, can build foundation where needed or buff it out to the proverbially airbrushed finish, it doesn't leave streaks, and it doesn't absorb a lot of foundation like so many other brushes do. It's a great brush and is typical of Hakuhodo's finest quality. You'll love it! As for using it for blush and contouring, I've seen it used that way when at the TF counter. It's quite versatile.

I have the TF cream foundation brush and the Shu 18 and use both equally. But if I HAD to choose, I would choose the Shu. The head is more compact and a bit more adept at getting to the finer nooks next to the nose.

On a related note the TF blush brush is lovely. Super dense and soft and applies even very pigmented powders evenly. A dreamy brush. I also have the Suqqu cheek so that is high praise indeed.

What a helpful information! thank you! so does it mean that the TF is a bit fluffier/looser than the Shu? and is it right that the Shu brush head is a bit smaller than TF? if the Shu brush really is "better", it would be a relief for my wallet since it's merely half the price of the TF or so?

regarding the blush brush - that's really interesting to hear... might think about it. but i have SO many (great) blush brushes that i'm not really looking for another at the moment. well, i shouldn't, but i guess i will.

I think the density is about comparable between TF & Shu, but the Shu 18 goat has a smaller head. Very cute little brush actually! I think some people think it's too small, but I really like it.

You probably don't neeeed the blush brush from TF. It looks like you have an insanely great collection already. I might have the initial stages of infatuation going with this brush since it's only a few weeks old. For such a large brush head, I like how precise it is and also how great it is with blending beautifully.

I too love my EB brushes! I am eager to try some of the TF's, I have a shopping cart started... :)I will say I have tried quite a bit from his color line and am VERY pleased with all that I have purchased.I am a high end brand snob (sorry to say but true) and I too read the mixed reviews and was skeptical. I broke down and placed an order and then another and then another! The TF makeup line is now in my top three!I'm glad I tried.... the blushes specifically are fantastic!xoStacy

Thank you for the review and for your blog (altough it's getting expensive ;-). I own the cream foundation and the bronzer brush since two month and absolutely LOVE the bronzer, its sooo soft. I would like to hear your opinion about this, because I think you own already very soft and expensive brushes. Today I received the blending brush and some eyeshadows also) and I like this one too. I did not found the right productfor the cream foundation until now, at the end I prefer skunk brushes or the beauty blender.